This dictionary provides a valency description of English verbs, nouns and adjectives. Each entry contains a comprehensive list of the complementation patterns identified on the basis of the largest corpus of English available at the present time. All examples are taken directly from the COBUILD/Birmingham corpus. The valency description comprises statements about the quantitative valency of the lexical units established, an inventory of their obligatory, contextually optional and purely optional complements as well as systematic information on the semantic and collocational properties of the complements. An outline of the model of valency theory used in this dictionary is provided in the introduction.

Thomas Herbst, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany; David Heath, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany; Ian F. Roe, University of Reading, UK; Dieter Götz, University of Augsburg, Germany.

I A brief guide to the Valency Dictionary of English

1. The functions of this dictionary
2. The structure of the dictionary
3. Complement inventory
4. The pattern-and-examples section
5. The note block
6. Idiomatic phrasal verbs section

II Valency theory and the Valency Dictionary of English

1. Introduction
2. Valency theory and lexicography
3. The basic assumptions of valency theory: complements and adjuncts
4. The form of the complements
5. Semantic and lexical aspects of complements
6. Obligatory and optional complements
7. Valency patterns in this dictionary
8. Information on meaning in this dictionary
9. Further information about this dictionary
10. Final remarks

Bibliography

Dictionary